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For those who love Internet radio and always wished they could listen to it on the go, now there is Tuner by Nullriver, Inc. for the iPhone 2.0. Tuner allows you to listen to any streaming Internet radio broadcasts right on your iPhone.  Find stations by searching Nullriver’s stream database by keyword, genre or a top 500 streams list. You can even enter a direct URL for streams not in their database.  Any stream can then be bookmarked for later listening.

The interface and user experience are excellent for (as of this post) a version 1.2 application. All stream and track information is displayed along with an attractive spectrum analyzer. The search function works well and the top 500 list is great for finding new music.

Tuner works on WiFi, 3G & EDGE. However, the quality of the audio is directly related to your connection speed. Go WiFi and you will get perfect 128k+ bit rate streams. With a 3G connection, 96k & 128k bit rate streams sound amazing without any digital static. Yes, EDGE will restrict you to streaming lower bit rates and you will occasionally hear pops and dropouts.  Like most of the first generation iPhone applications I have tested, it does have a tendency to quit here a there.  A small price to pay for listening to your favorite commerical-free Internet radio on the beach this summer.

Nullriver, Inc.’s Tuner is available for purchase and download now from the iTunes App Store for $5.99 and supports AAC, MP3, PLS, M3U on the iPhone and iPod Touch.

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